<p>Hi all, have been reading this discussion for a while and wanted to jump in with some information I compiled.</p>
<p>First, an introduction: I graduated a top LAC 6 years ago and now my youngest sister is beginning her own college search. Having gone through this process three times before, my parents and I have learned that every child is different but at least we have the vast experiences of a collected 18 years (and counting) of higher education to go on amongst my siblings.</p>
<p>Here's a description of my sis and her educational goals. Junior at competitive public high school in affluent NY county. National Honor Society inductee. 3.6 GPA (should be higher soon). Standout athlete in two varsity sports. Music and other extras.</p>
<p>Sis has a desire to play Division III sports but mostly we are looking at liberal arts colleges for her within about a 4 hour radius of the NYC suburbs.</p>
<p>Sis hasn't been the best standardized test taker unfortunately. She's taking the SAT again but in the meantime, I've compiled a list of these schools that have made the SATs optional in admission. A more comprehensive list can be found at fairtest.org but this is a list of top LACs that I think Sis may have a shot at:</p>
<p>rom fairtest.org</p>
<p>Bard College
Bates College
Bennington College
Bowdoin College
Burlington College
College of the Holy Cross8
Connecticut College5
Dickinson College
Drew University
Franklin and Marshall College
Gettysburg College
Hamilton College5
Hampshire College
Hartwick College4
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Mount Holyoke College
Muhlenberg College
Providence College
Saint Lawrence University
Union College, Schenectady
Wheaton College</p>
<p>4 SAT/ACT required for some programs
5 SAT/ACT not required if submit SAT Subject Test, Advancement Placement, Int'l Baccalaureate or other exams</p>
<p>I would love to hear some feedback on any of these schools and if they "really" don't require the SATs. Or even other LACs that will evaluate the whole student and not just one score.</p>
<p>Sarah Lawrence college does not require SAT (and claims not to look at them even if submitted), but requires writing samples.
[url=<a href="http://www.slc.edu/%5DSarah">http://www.slc.edu/]Sarah</a> Lawrence College. A distinctive coeducational college of the liberal arts and sciences.<a href="I%20am%20not%20sure%20if%20%22Saint%20Lawrence%22%20on%20your%20list%20was%20supposed%20to%20be%20Sarah%20Lawrence...">/url</a></p>
<p>DS applied to PC and Union 2 years ago and also looked at Holy Cross. They <em>really</em> don't require the SAT's. </p>
<p>Holy Cross and PC are Division 1, so that doesn't match with her desire to play Division III sports. Union is Division III for all except hockey (D1). </p>
<p>Union is a little unique in a couple of ways. They're on a trimester system, everyone takes 3 classes at a time for 9 weeks. Fall term is Labor Day - Thanksgiving, Winter term is Jan 2 - late March, Spring is early April - mid-June. Union also features something called "Minerva Houses," which are kind of like Hogwarts houses in that everyone in the school is placed into one as an incoming freshman, but the placement is supposed to be random (no one pretending to be an all-knowing-Sorting-Hat and no "rush" system). It's an alternative to Greek life that still provides social structure and the opportunity for leadership.</p>
<p>Bates "really" doesn't require the SAT (I think it was a leader in this movement) and has done the research to prove to itself that non-submitters do NOT lag behind submitters in success at their school. (I do think they ask for your scores once you have been accepted, if you have taken; toward this research). </p>
<p>I don't think it's quite within a 4-hour driving radius but there are a ton of greater NYC students there.</p>
<p>Great small LAC atmosphere with the easy ability to know profs well from the outset that characterizes such schools.</p>
<p>Due to differences in learning styles- some kids just do better on the ACT exam. It's a much quicker paced test and more closely mirrors the HS curriculum.<br>
I have been on these boards many years, and have stated a # of times that my unproven observation is that some athletes do better on the ACT. I know this is all anecdotal, but I think it is worth your consideration to look into the ACT test.
My NY athlete d, scored an equivalent of 130 points higher on the ACT than the SAT. She struggled with that exam. From getting headaches, "numbness of the brain" etc.
Absolutely no problem with the ACT. and she was very willing to take it a few times, as she found the ACT not causing any of the physical problems she felt while taking the SAT test.
good luck.</p>
<p>thanks for the feedback. I may have intentionally omitted Sarah Lawrence from the list because it's too close to Sis' home. </p>
<p>Sis is taking the ACT soon. She's also been in a SAT class for over a year since her PSATs so cross fingers for marked improvement.</p>
<p>The 3.6 is unweighted. Her school doesn't rank but I'd put her in the top quarter. She is taking 2 APs this year and is in Honors for just about everything else.</p>
<p>Bates would be a great fit if she could get in! The four hours I wrote was a little arbitrary I guess - just needs to be in the Northeast.</p>
<p>Her school has Navience (man I wish that was around 10 years ago!) but it seems not many people from her high school are applying to the semi-elite LACs. Any idea if this hurts/help an application?</p>
<p>if your sis wants to play division 3 sports, you really should get advise from parents who are going through the recruitment process. Admission is a whole different ballgame for recruited athletes. Though my kid was a very decent 3 sport athlete, we did not consider that she'd play in college. But some of her teammates went through the process and I know it was different than just applying to college as a non-athlete.
Glad your sis is taking the ACT. Make sure she takes the writing portion too. The ACT with writing will probably eliminate the need for taking SAT ll's.
(I think there is a website for division 3 schools with info about recruiting- if I find it, I'll try to pass along the info.)
couldn't find the website for division 3- but NCAA.org will link you to alot of info that you should be aware of regarding Division 3 recruitment</p>
<p>Muhlenberg is SAT-optional unless the applicant is looking for merit aid. However, the applicant who does not submit SAT/ACT scores must be interviewed by a member of the admissions staff, and must also submit a graded paper from an 11th or 12th grade class.</p>
<p>My d and I really loved Muhlenberg (about 2200 students, beautiful campus with terrific facilities, very strong arts departments, Div. III sports). It's becoming more selective all the time, and accepts about half of its freshman class ED. It considers interest strongly, so potential applicants should definitely visit and arrange for an interview when they do. Even students who submit SAT scores should interview - it's a pre-requisite for merit aid consideration.</p>
<p>thanks for the feedback - I have heard good things about Muhlenburg as well.</p>
<p>As for the sports I should probably start a different thread on just that topic as we are trying to gather info on the recruitment process as well. Sis has filled out requests for info at a couple of schools - including two of our family alma maters. Her HS coach has suggested going to camps this summer or competing in the Empire State Games (a NY statewide competition). My father pondered hiring one of those services that spams out your info but I suggested we sign her up for a online profile instead. Thoughts?</p>
<p>friends kid was recruited by skidmore. I know he did do the summer camp route upstate . They also considered Hobart/smith and a few other schools. I know that they always took into consideration how kid related to coach and other issues which don't normally come up with college admission so their really is alot more to athletic recruiting than having the grades and SAT/ACT scores. Muhlenburg is also a highly regarded school in my area (Long Island).<br>
I think you should re-post and get some insight from the cc parents re: athletic recruitment. I think you'll get alot of good info. </p>
<p>Nothing is simple!! Good luck and you're a great sister.</p>
<p>Thanks! On the one hand I want to help Sis out and on the other, wow, looking at college web sites again really takes me back - okay only about six years but still!</p>
<p>When I visited Bard, the people there said that they prefer if students don't send their scores unless they think it'll really help your application.</p>
<p>Ursinus College is a small LAC in the outer Philadelphia burbs. I don't know much about it, but lots of people seem to like it. My son has a friend from NYC who is a smart, quirky, artsy kid, and he loves it there. I would regard it as competitive with 1/2-1/3 of the colleges on your list.</p>
<p>Its policy is that submitting standardized test scores (SAT or ACT) is optional for any student (a) ranked in the top 10% of his or her high school class, or (b) with a GPA of 3.5/4.0 or higher at a school that does not report class rank. </p>
<p>(I regard this as a little sketchy, since in my experience many more private schools than public schools do not report class rank, and a GPA of 3.5 would not put many students into the top 10% of their high school classes. They may mean "unweighted GPA", which would probably get closer. But there it is, that's their policy.)</p>
<p>Was just going to suggest Ursinus. With a 3.5 GPA no SATs are required. Would suggest an interview, since it is required for merit awards. Nice school, very friendly people, very nice coaches, pretty campus, great premed program and poli sci. Small town and 1,500 student body which may not appeal to everyone. DIII sports.</p>
<p>Drew is SAT optional. Similar in size to Ursinus. Friendly admin and coaches, good academics and close to NYC (can take train in). Would also suggest an interview as they do offer merit awards. DIII sports. Madison is a nice town, but probably not a lot for college students to do in town. </p>
<p>St. Lawrence is also SAT optional. DI hockey, rest of sports DIII. A little larger than the above 2 (about 2,300 students). Fun place if an outdoorsy kind of person; many intersting things in north country and a short trip to Canada. Very, very cold from Jan. - March. Friendly environnment. Very good academics. Strongly suggest visit and interview. In small town without much else in the immediate area.</p>